Helping Nonprofits Make Smart Software Decisions

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Idealware provides an authoritative online guide to the software that allows nonprofits—especially small ones—to be more effective.

Nonprofits maintain a complicated relationship with technology. Most know that software can streamline their processes and help fulfill their missions more efficiently and effectively, yet lean staffing and tight budgets mean they’re unable to devote the time necessary keep up with new technologies and find the right tools.

From the most basic questions (like how to use software to help manage emailing hundreds of people at once), to the more complex (like understanding the role of social networking and mobile phone text-messaging in fundraising strategy), organizations need a trusted source for answers.

Idealware provides an authoritative online guide to the software that allows U.S. nonprofits—especially small ones—to be more effective. By synthesizing vast amounts of original research into credible and approachable information, Idealware helps nonprofits make the most of their time and financial resources. And, our reach is expanding! Our reports have been downloaded hundreds of thousands of times.

Topics

At Idealware, our mission is to provide you with the most useful resources that you need to make the best software decisions for your organization. We take that mission seriously. We have hundreds of resources covering a wide range of topics—and that library is always growing! Each topic page is a gateway to all the information Idealware has gathered or produced on each subject, from major reports and articles to seminars and blog entries.

Reports

Our thoroughly-researched reports compare products and give recommendations to help you make smart software decisions. Idealware’s reports typically start with a high-level overview of the software landscape for a specific purpose, and then detail the benefits and drawbacks of specific software vendors for your organization’s needs. And don’t worry, our funding model (and integrity) ensures that our reports remain unbiased.

Articles

Idealware articles, like those in our Few Good Tools series, give nonprofits concise, critical information on the software choices available for specific organizational functions and goals. We compare software options, offer real life examples and case studies, and give you the tools to make the right decision based on your specific needs.

Online Training

Idealware seminars are designed to give you the tactical advice you need to make smart software decisions. You can take one of our live online seminars, which are capped at 25 participants so you’ll have lots of opportunity to ask questions and get the information you need. All you need is an internet connection and a phone line to participate in these 90-minute workshops. For an in-depth lesson, check out Idealware’s online courses. These intense, five and six part trainings are offered in partnership with state associations across the country.

Custom Resources

Idealware loves to do research, plain and simple—the kind of research you depend on us for: trusted, thorough, objective and easy-to-use. And, our goal is clear: to help nonprofits make smart software decisions.

We’ve built a considerable base of research, but we also create customized resources for networks of organizations, including foundations, nonprofit associations, affiliate groups and other groups of nonprofits working together. Idealware works with organizations to help them develop resources for their networks that speak directly to their own nonprofit software needs. We do all the research and synthesis to provide you with the most thorough and useful resources, so you can focus on getting the work done!